


Reformation

by UnderlordZ



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Poofing, Reforming, Regeneration, Short One Shot, Slice of Life, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-28
Packaged: 2018-12-21 00:54:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11932941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderlordZ/pseuds/UnderlordZ
Summary: Peridot has a favor to ask of her new teammates.(Written between Seasons 2 and 3; some information is now out-of-date, so this is non-canon-compliant.)





	Reformation

The Crystal Gems made themselves comfortable on Steven's couch, Garnet in the bend with her arms relaxed across the back, Pearl sitting daintily on her left, and Amethyst sprawled out on her right with her head in Garnet's lap. Peridot had asked them to meet her and Steven in the living room, the green Gem descending the stairs behind them melodramatically.

"Thank you all for coming. It has come to my attention that, if I am to be a _true_ Crystal Gem, it seems customary to include as a part of my personal aesthetic a unicursal pentagram."

"Say what?" Amethyst may have been working on her Peri-phrasing, but such technobabble could still elude her at times.

"She means she's ready to wear the star," Garnet clarified, "like the rest of us."

"Precisely," Peridot continued. "Steven and I have been…experimenting, with possible locations for the last few days, and I believe I'm ready."

"Ready for…what, exactly?" Pearl asked, apparently confused.

"Yeah," Amethyst wondered, "aren't you just gonna shapeshift your outfit?"

"I would, under other circumstances, perhaps," Peridot clarified, "but this is intended to be a _permanent_ alteration. Simple shapeshifting would require constant focus and concentration, and that simply won't do if I'm going to be making any sort of significant contribution to _anything_. And so, Steven and I have discussed it, and he believes the simplest solution is for one of you to… Steven, what did you call it?"

"Poofing. They'll need to poof you." Steven, despite having apparently been the source of the idea, seemed rather uneasy about its actual implementation.

"Yes, 'poof' me. One of you will need to poof me."

The three Gems on the couch looked back and forth between themselves for several moments, seeming rather unhappy about the idea as well.

"What? What's the problem?"

"Well, Peridot," Pearl explained, "it's just that…destroying one's form so _casually_ …"

"It's a little creepy how you sound so eager to just do it!" Amethyst finished.

"B-b-but! I-I've been planning this for days!" Peridot's assuredness in her plan was beginning to waver; she hadn't expected her allies to gang up against her, and without even hearing her out! "I thought being part of a team meant showing one's allegiance! After everything we've been through, everything we've already done…am I still not a part of…this?" Peridot was many things, and 'emotional' seemed to be one of those things more and more recently. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes as her words grew more passionate.

Garnet got up, crouching down to eye-level with the much-smaller Gem, and removed her sunglasses. She placed a gentle hand on Peridot's left cheek, wiping away some of her tears with a thumb.

"Peridot, what you're asking…it's not so simple here on Earth. We take regeneration _very_ seriously, and it's usually only done when _absolutely necessary_."

Peridot took a calming breath, as Garnet had taught her, clearing the tears from her other eye as Garnet moved her hand to Peridot's shoulder.

"I…I understand that, but I'm _being_ very serious _now!_ I know you've all said I'm a Crystal Gem, just by virtue of turning my back on Yellow Diamond; I just want it to feel…more _official!_ You all wear a matching insignia, so why can't I?"

"Nobody is saying you can't, and I understand and even appreciate that you've already put a lot of thought into it, but this is not something we take lightly. What you're asking of us is to--"

"Oh, come on, Garnet!" Amethyst was quickly growing bored with this whole situation. "Why _are_  we making such a big deal outta this? Last time _I_  got poofed, it was, like, 5 times in less than an hour!"

"Amethyst!" Pearl tried to inject a bit of reason, as always. "You _know_  what that experience almost did to you, and you _know_  that being poofed can be traumatic! Think about how Steven gets when it happens to one of us!"

"Okay, but this time he'll have some advance notice; heck, Peri said it was his idea!"

Steven sat still back on the stairs, unsure what he could even add to the conversation at this point, but certain it wouldn't do much good for either side. Pearl and Amethyst went back and forth for another few seconds, while Garnet reapplied her shades and stood to her full height. She adjusted her glasses as she glanced ahead just a few minutes.

"Not it," she declared, making her way over to the Temple Door. Pearl turned to follow, awestruck at how casually Garnet had spoken.

"Garnet! What do you mean?! Are you saying…wait, what _are_ you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm not gonna watch." Garnet's palms glowed bright, her two stones on the Door matching their intensity and sliding open in their standard Y-formation. Garnet made her way in, Pearl following closely behind going on about irresponsibility (or something), leaving just Peridot, Steven, and Amethyst in the living room.

"So…how d'you wanna do this?" Amethyst asked, apparently having become _much_  more comfortable with the idea once she realized it meant permission to use casual violence.

"Oh, well…" Peridot answered, "I… didn't exactly have anything particular in mind. As a sign of trust, I had intended for whoever accepted to decide the best method of, uh…execution." Though she wasn't entirely familiar with the concept, spending time in the company of Amethyst and Steven had given Peridot a simple grasp of puns and double-entendres. Amethyst actually chuckled a bit as Peridot's awkward smile grew.

"Heh-heh, alright, but fair warning, this might _pinch_  a little." Amethyst drew her whip with a _crack_ , leaving a tiny nick in the floor. She swung her arm just right, ensnaring Peridot from neck to ankle, similar to how she'd done back on the Hand Ship. "Hey, Steven! Get ready to catch!"

Steven jumped, just as Amethyst yanked back hard and Peridot let out a slight yelp. A cloud of lime-green dust burst through the studded coils, while Steven made a diving save before Peridot's gem could hit the floor.

"Amethyst, she could've gotten hurt!"

"Ah, she'll be fine. She's got us keeping an eye on her, remember?"

Steven oddly felt better, promising to himself to keep Peridot safe, no matter what, for as long as it would take.

**Author's Note:**

> I actually wrote this entirely on impulse in a Theory Tuesday thread on the SU subreddit waaay back in March of 2016, between seasons 2 and 3, well-before we even learned that Peridot couldn't shapeshift anyway. Also, I thought for sure Peri would be more of a major player when the show finally came back. Alas, wrong on both counts.
> 
> Just remembered recently that I even had this over there; still, better late than never, so here it is!


End file.
